Is there a trend against transparency in the States? Because recent news from Utah, Maine, and Tennessee sure makes it look that way.

Politicians have learned to run on transparency. But promises to be more open are worthless if they’re followed by the opposite. (“Government as a platform” isn’t supposed to mean “something you say to get elected”).

Governor Hebert of Utah is restricting access to records under the banner of open government. Maine’s Governor LePage has decided that his business advisory committee will work better if open government laws don’t apply to it. And Tennessee Governor Haslam decided that it was more comfortable to exempt himself from financial disclosure laws than it would have been to publicly disclose his finances.